Editing Baghdad International Airport (section)

==History==
=== Interwar ===
The '''Baghdad West Aerodrome''' was made available for civilian flights of [[Imperial Airways]] on April 1, 1929.<ref>{{cite book | author=Great Britain. Colonial Office | author2=League of Nations. Council | title=Iraq, Report on Iraq Administration | publisher=H.M. Stationery Office | year=1927 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Je5QAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA3-PA114 | language=mt | access-date=2024-07-29 | page=3-PA114}}</ref>

===Construction and operation===
The airport was developed under a consortium led by [[France|French]] company [[Spie Batignolles]] under an agreement made in 1979.<ref name=":1" /> The [[Iran–Iraq War]] delayed full opening of the airport until 1982.<ref name=":1" /> It opened as Saddam International Airport, bearing the name of then-[[President of Iraq|Iraqi President]] [[Saddam Hussein]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Technology Transfer to the Middle East: Summary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3b_8bcJHxB4C&pg=PA273|year=1984|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-1-4289-2383-6|page=273}}</ref>

Most of [[Baghdad]]'s civilian flights stopped in 1991,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Baghdad International Airport |url=https://www.airport-technology.com/projects/baghdadinternational/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Airport Technology |language=en-US}}</ref> when the [[United Nations]] imposed restrictions on Iraq after its [[invasion of Kuwait]]. After the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]], a [[Iraqi no-fly zones|no-fly zone]] imposed on Iraq by the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]] meant that [[Iraqi Airways]] was only able to continue domestic flights for limited periods.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} Occasional international charter flights carrying medicine, aid workers, and government officials were allowed into Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq Baghdad Private Jet Charter |url=https://jetsplore.com/en/airport/private-jet-charter-to-baghdad-airport/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722014649/https://jetsplore.com/en/airport/private-jet-charter-to-baghdad-airport/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2024 }}</ref> [[Royal Jordanian|Royal Jordanian Airlines]] operated regular flights from [[Amman]] to Baghdad.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

On August 17, 2000, the airport was officially opened to civilian flights. Minister of Transport Ahmad Murtada said that:

{{Blockquote|text=And we are expecting the arrival of aircraft. The embargo has prevented Iraqi citizens from using the airport for 10 years. There is no international resolution banning flights to Iraq. It is a US-British-Zionist decision that is neither lawful, humane nor fair.|author=Ahmed Murtada}}

===2003–2005 (U.S. occupation)===
[[File:Baghdad International Airport (October 2003).jpg|thumb|right|Inside view of the deserted Samarra Blue terminal 3 terminal in 2003, showing a nonfunctional [[flight information display system|FIDS]] (note the red and white icon for the long-defunct [[East Germany|East German]] airline [[Interflug]] on the fourth row from the bottom, a legacy of [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|the invasion of Kuwait]]), in front of empty [[check-in]] desks and passport control]]
[[File:Sen. McCain visits Iraq DVIDS93115.jpg|left|thumb|A military helicopter flying over the airport, 2003]]
In 2003, [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|United States-led Coalition forces]] [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq]]. In early April, they moved into Baghdad, took control of the airport, and changed its name to Baghdad International Airport.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-04-04 |title=Renamed airport gateway to Iraq's future |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/139574/renamed-airport-gateway-to-iraqs-future/https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/139574/renamed-airport-gateway-to-iraqs-future/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Air Force |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]] code for the airport consequently changed from ORBS to ORBI. The [[International Air Transport Association|IATA]] code also changed from SDA to BGW, which had previously referred to all Baghdad airports, and before that to [[Muthenna Air Base|Al Muthana Airport]] when Saddam Hussein was in power.

In July 2003, the airport resumed civilian flights for the first time since 1991.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:001127-BaghdadAirport-Iraq-IMG 8335-2.jpg|thumb|[[Babylon]] Terminal, Baghdad International Airport in 2022]]
Civilian control of the airport was returned to the [[Iraq|Iraqi Government]] from the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] in 2004.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

===2005–2011===
[[Sather Air Base]] – the American base on the west side of the airport – came under periodic rocket fire from Baghdad. On 6 December 2006, a 107mm rocket attack landed {{convert|30|yd|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} from a parked [[Lockheed C-5 Galaxy|C-5A]] aircraft, puncturing it with scores of shrapnel holes.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Terminal C was refreshed with three active gate areas for carriers operating from the airport.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=Need citation of the event happening, and when.}}

=== 2012-Present ===
[[Baghdad Airport Road]], connecting the airport to the [[Green Zone]], once a dangerous route full of [[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]], was refurbished in 2014 with palm trees, manicured lawns, and a fountain, with [[Turkey|Turkish]] assistance.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Arango|first1=Tim|title=Amid Mutual Suspicion, Turkish Premier Visits Iraq|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/world/middleeast/turkey-iraq-isis-ahmet-davutoglu.html|access-date=22 November 2014|agency=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|date=20 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218210427/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/world/middleeast/turkey-iraq-isis-ahmet-davutoglu.html|archive-date=18 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 1 May 2023, the Iraqi government under [[Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani]] approved plans to enhance services with the intention of launching an expansion project in the development of Baghdad Airport in the second half of 2023. In 2024, the airport reached the final stage of its expansion plan, according to the [[International Finance Corporation]].